CEPAL’s head office is located at 323 Chapel Street, Ottawa, with branches in Montreal and Toronto.

Mission Statement: CEPAL is a Canadian volunteer humanitarian organization and registered charity, founded in 1996 “by individuals who share a deep commitment to the respect of human dignity and the rights of all people. Our objective is to assist the Palestinian refugees in the pursuit of their basic human rights by increasing their access to education, and by raising public awareness in Canada about their struggle.”

CEPAL actively promotes the “right of return” supporting “the Palestinian refugees’ right to choose to return to their homeland or to resettle in another country, and to compensation for their losses and suffering.” By advocating for the Palestinians’ “right of return”, CEPAL implicitly supports campaigns seeking to destroy Israel as a Jewish State.

CEPAL claims to be the only Canadian NGO that “works directly with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon”.

Advisory Board members include: Dr. Nahla Adbo, Professor of Sociology at Carleton University, Michael Lynk, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Western Ontario, and Dr. Mark Zeitoune, co-founder of CEPAL. MP Libby Davies, New Democratic Party (NDP, Vancouver East) is also closely involved.

CEPAL’s “Right of Return Conference”
(June 28, 2008 at the University of Ottawa)

According to the website, CEPAL’s Right of Return conference “commemorates the 60th anniversary of Al-Nakba (catastrophe), and will encourage discussion among Canadians about the Palestinian Right of Return. The Right of Return will be discussed in reference to several themes, including: 1) Historical insights, 2) International law, 3) Human rights, 4) Culture and identity, and 5) Political considerations.”

Listed conference speakers include Norman Finkelstein1, Hanan Ashrawi, (Palestinian spokesperson and co-founder of Miftah), and professors from Carleton, McGill and the University of Western Ontario.2